School is tough for senior landscape architecture major B.J. Harrison, but he has two friends to help him along. Lester and Simon, are two seven-week-old cats Harrison adopted from the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.
“I would have never had the opportunity to share my life with the two little guys,” Harrison said, talking about the two seven-week-old cats. “There needs to be more people in this world who care about animals like they [the society] do.”
The society strives to provide loving homes for stray and abandoned animals, such as “Casper” the campus-roaming dog, and also to promote the reduction of the pet overpopulation by spaying and neutering.
“We have a mixture of cases that come through the shelter,” said shelter manager Delisa Simmons. “Some animals are found by the roadside, or are turned in by compassionate owners who can’t take care of them anymore. But some are just abandoned here by people who don’t want to care for them anymore.”
When an animal enters the shelter, it is sent to one of the area veterinarians who volunteers at the shelter. The animal is given a thorough physical examination, prescribed medication as needed and given its first set of shots.
Some animals, such as puppies and kittens or abused pets, are kept at the shelter for a while until they are ready to go to new homes.
“The average good adoption age as far as small puppies and kittens go is four to eight weeks,” Simmons said. “We keep them here until they’re able to eat solid food easily and are strong enough to be in a family situation.”
Volunteers also assist the shelter in the adoption process. They come in as often as their schedules allow, helping the staff care for the animals by feeding them, cleaning and giving each of the animals one-on-one human socialization.
Part of the joy is seeing the animals, or as they are affectionately called “shelter babies,” find new homes, volunteer Nicky Lewis said.
“We love on them and play with them and help them get ready for new homes, and I can’t think of anything more fulfilling than that,” Lewis said.
“You do get attached to all of the shelter babies in their own unique ways, and you do miss them all, but seeing them find a caring family is the greatest thing in the world,” Simmons said.
In order to adopt one of the animals, potential owners are required to fill out an application, complete with references and past animal history. The application asks the applicant’s position on the alteration of animals and also outlines the requirements for owning a pet.
After the application for ownership has been filled out and he decides on which pet to adopt, the applicant signs an adoption agreement. In this agreement, the signer agrees to provide consistent veterinary care, a loving, safe home, and if the animal is unaltered, to get the animal spayed or neutered in a reasonable amount of time.
The adoption fee is $60 for an unaltered animal. This includes the first set of shots and deworming treatment, and also the spay/neuter at one of the participating veterinarians or partial coverage of the procedure using laser surgery at another participating veterinary clinic. The adoption fee for an altered animal is $30. This includes the first set of shots/deworming.
Animals continue to stay updated on shots and up-to-date on any other medical care the entire time they are at the shelter.
The shelter is a strictly non-profit organization, supported by donations from the United Way and generous community members.
Items such as dog and cat food, collars, cat litter, cleaning supplies and office supplies are needed all the time.
People can drop these items by the shelter, located at 405 Dr. Douglas Connor Drive, during their operating hours through the week.
The society is also in the process of raising funds for the new shelter.
“Any help in getting funds for the new shelter would be appreciated more than we can say,” Simmons said. “We want to be able to help all the animals in the area, and our current facilities don’t really allow us to do so.”
Volunteers are always needed at the shelter. For more information on how to help, contact Simmons at 324-1556.